When an individual purchases a mobile terminal, they purchase a mobile terminal that is associated with a particular wireless service provider. That is, if the user is going to have AT&T as their service provider, they purchase an AT&T phone; if they wish to be a Verizon customer they purchase a Verizon telephone, etc. When purchasing a mobile terminal associated with a particular wireless service provider, the SIM card associated with the mobile terminal is pre-provisioned to be activated within and operate within the associated wireless service provider network. This limits customers into using particular wireless devices with particular wireless services providers.
With most electronic devices today, the user is not forced to use a particular service provider. For example, when an individual buys a television, they are not forced to use a particular cable or satellite provider. However, with mobile telephone handsets a customer is not able to select their operator of choice directly from the handset or self-activate their phone. They must purchase a phone that has been previously provisioned to operate within a particular wireless service provider's network. Thus, there would be a great benefit to enable the purchasers of mobile terminals to select the particular wireless service provider using the handset and provide the ability for self-activation through the handset.